This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival
material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are
physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available
through the World Wide Web. See the
Duplication Policy section for more information.

Charles William Bradbury was an insurance agent of New Orleans, La. Other members
of the Bradbury family were of Manlius and Canandaigua, N.Y.; Cincinnati and Montgomery,
Ohio; Madison, Ind.; and New Orleans, La. Besides Charles, family members represented
include Jacob Bradbury (fl. 1817-1825); Cornelius S. Bradbury (fl. 1818-1848); Elizabth
A. Bradbury (fl. 1817-1825); and Charles's wife, Sarah (fl. 1821-1844). Charles's
mistress, Madaline Selima Edwards (fl. 1843-1848), is also represented. The collection includes letters to Cornelius S. Bradbury, 1818- 1825; correspondence,
financial, and legal papers, and memorandum books of Charles W. Bradbury, 1832-1852;
and notebooks and diaries of Madaline Selima Edwards, 1843-1847. Letters include descriptions
of life in the various places where family members lived, descriptions of travels
through southern Indiana and down the Mississippi River Valley from Cincinnati to
New Orleans, and reflections on their relationship by Charles Bradbury and Madaline
Edwards. Legal papers include items relating to the purchase of slaves, real estate,
and a cottonseed manufacturing plant in or near New Orleans. The Edwards notebooks
contain essays, poems, and other writings.

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Charles William Bradbury Papers #3011, Southern Historical
Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Alternate Form of Material

All or part of this collection is available on microfilm from University Publications
of America as part of Southern women and their families in the 19th century, Series
A.

Acquisitions Information

Received from Mrs. Meigs O. Frost of Fleming Plantation, Lafitte, Louisiana, in 1954.

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or
confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy
laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. §
132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of
State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.).
Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to
identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent
of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under
common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's
private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable
person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no
responsibility.

The following terms from
Library of Congress Subject
Headings
suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the
entire collection; the terms do
not usually represent
discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or
items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's
online catalog.

Cornelius S. Bradbury moved from Canandaigua, New York, to Cincinnati about 1820;
he married Sarah (surname unknown) Bradbury (fl. 1821-1844) about 1822. Jacob Bradbury
moved from Manlius, New York, to Montgomery, Ohio, in late 1821; the rest of his family
followed in 1822. By 1834, many of the family members had removed to Madison, Indiana.

Charles William ("Charley") Bradbury moved to New Orleans in 1835; he married Mary Anne (Hamilton) Taylor (fl.1836-1852)
in 1836. The New Orleans directory shows that Charles William Bradbury resided on
Estelle Street between Constance and Magazine in 1838; in 1852, he was an insurance
broker with an office at the corner of Erato and Bacchus (Baronne) streets; in 1853,
he was at No. 75 St. Charles Street; the 1856 directory lists him as a "Cottonseed and Lard Oil Manufacturer," with an office on Circus Street, corner of Girod.

Madaline Selima ("Mad") Edwards (fl. 1843-1848), apparently from Tennessee, was living in New Orleans when
she met Charles Bradbury. She became his mistress, and he purchased a house for her
use in October 1843. References in the papers indicate that Edwards was raised by
an uncle in Tennessee and was married at his house, and that three of her children
died in Clinton, Mississippi. Bradbury was apparently also involved with Helen ("Ellen") Hart, who seems to have lived in Cincinnati, Ohio.

This collection consists of Bradbury family letters (bulk dates, 1817-1836) to Cornelius
S. Bradbury; correspondence, related papers, and memorandum books of Charles William
Bradbury, 1832-1852; journals and diaries of his mistress, Madaline Selima Edwards,
1843-1847; three daguerreotypes, a photograph, and an ink sketch.

In at least two letters there are descriptions of travelling overland through southern
Indiana (28 June 1834) and by steamboat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers from
Cincinnati to New Orleans (7 November 1835). In the financial and legal papers, there
are bills of sale for slaves and real estate in the vicinity of New Orleans. There
also are papers concerning the purchase by Charles Bradbury of a cottonseed oil manufacturing
plant, 1852-1854.

Expand/collapse Series 1. Correspondence and Other Loose Papers, 1817-1854.

About 110 items.

Chiefly letters and related materials of members of the Bradbury family. Letters written
by Helen ("Ellen") Hart and Madaline ("Mad") Selima Edwards to Charles William Bradbury also are included.

For the period 1817 to 1825, there are letters to Cornelius S. Bradbury at Canandaigua,
New York, and at Cincinnati, Ohio, from Jacob, Elizabeth A., and Mary Bradbury, discussing
family matters, marriages, and deaths in Manlius and Montgomery, Ohio, travel plans,
and the need for money. A letter from Elizabeth A. Bradbury, dated 24 June 1821, mentioned
her trip to Herkimer, New York, and the death of the family dog "Trip." Another letter from Elizabeth, dated 2(?) November 1821, mentioned Jacob's trip to
Cincinnati and Cornelius's upcoming marriage. Jacob, at Montgomery, wrote to Cornelius
on 7 and 21 (no month) and 30 September 1822, about his bad situation there, and also
about the Cornelius's wife, Sarah. Elizabeth wrote, on 5 October 1822, on the eve
of her departure from Manlius to Montgomery, about her general excitement. She also
wrote about life in Montgomery in a letter dated 2 May 1823.

Letters and other materials for the years from 1832 to 1835 chiefly relate to Charles
William Bradbury. Included are papers relating to a bank loan (10 July 1835). A letter
from Cornelius at Cincinnati mentioned pestilence spreading westward; he recommended
that Charles attend school in Cincinnati, and expressed religious sentiments. C. I.
Bradbury at Madison, Indiana, wrote to Charles at Cincinnati on 14 April 1834, of
her impending marriage to Mr. Doan. Helen ("Ellen") Hart at Vincennes, Indiana, wrote in a letter dated 28 June 1834 about her 200-
mile trip from Cincinnati to Vincennes, mostly across southern Indiana; and of her
intention to continue to St. Louis despite an outbreak of cholera there. C. I. (Bradbury)
Doan at Madison, Indiana, wrote on 26 July 1834 about the social news of Madison;
another letter from her, dated 20 June 1835, mentions an outbreak of cholera there.
In a letter dated 7 November 1835, Charles at New Orleans wrote to Sarah Bradbury
at Cincinnati, about his trip by steamship from Cincinnati to New Orleans. He provided
a detailed description of his trip, and also his initial impressions of life in New
Orleans.

Letters and related materials for the years 1836 to 1842 are chiefly personal letters
to Charles at New Orleans, about his work and the activities of other members of the
Bradbury family in Ohio, Indiana, and Louisiana. There are also legal and financial
papers from New Orleans. In a letter dated 9 April 1836, Cornelius at Cincinnati wrote
about business and merchandizing; in another dated 15 May 1836, he advised Charles
not to marry while still in his teens. A note from Mary A. (Hamilton Taylor) Bradbury
at Madisonville, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, mentioned her illness. There are letters
concerning Charles's possible employment at the Atchafalaya Bank; contracts for the
purchase of land in St. John the Baptist Parish, 27 June 1838; and the purchase of
slaves, 15 August 1838. There are documents relating to Mary A. (Taylor) Bradbury's
agreement to give Charles power of attorney over her affairs, 13 February 1839, as
well as her last will and testament, 21 May 1840. There are several papers relating
to Charles's power of attorney over James Anson Bradbury's legal and business affairs,
1841-1842. An 1841 bill of sale for a slave named Lucy or Lucinda describes has as
being "addicted to the vice of ebriety."

Correspondence and related materials for the years 1843 to 1849 are chiefly letters
and poems to Charles at New Orleans from Madaline Selima Edwards, also at New Orleans,
and legal and financial papers of Charles involving purchases of slaves and real estate.
Edwards's letters discuss the clandestine nature of her relationship with Bradbury,
her position as a social outcast, and her hopes for employment in a school. Letters
from 1847 present both Edwards's and Bradbury's views on their final separation.

Papers for the period 1852 to 1854 are chiefly Charles's financial and legal papers
at New Orleans, including those relating to his involvement in the purchase of a cottonseed
oil manufacturing plant.

Notebooks of Madaline Selima Edwards that contain essays, poems, comments on her reading,
long diary like, autobiographical writings and thoughts, "A Tale of Real Life," stories, and other writings. She appears to have entered her thoughts in these books
several times a month. In her writings, Edwards frequently focused on human relationships
and mentioned, among many other things, Charles Bradbury, school in New Orleans, astronomy,
and religion. Entries also concern childbirth and instructions for the care of the
child with whom she thought she was pregnant, should she die giving birth. Many items
appear to be intended for publication.

The diaries consist of short, almost daily entries, noting Edwards's activities, people
she met, her health, knitting, and her relationship with Charles Bradbury. Entries
also concern a false pregnancy and her fear of death in childbirth, her position as
a social outcast, painting, reading, writing, and her occasionally successful efforts
to get pieces published in the
Native American.

A print of an unidentified man (Cornelius S. or Charles William Bradbury?), circa
1844-1855; three daguerreotypes of an unidentified woman (possibly Sarah Bradbury,
wife of Cornelius S. Bradbury), circa 1844-1855; and a ink sketch of a coat of arms
(undated).